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Iraqi forces launched an assault Sunday to retake Mosul's Old City, the last district still held by Islamic State three years after the jihadists seized the northern city and declared their "caliphate".

Military commanders told AFP the assault had begun at dawn, after overnight air strikes by the US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces, and that the jihadists were putting up fierce resistance.

Iraqi forces take a position on the roof of a building as they advance towards Mosul's Old City on SundayCredit:
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP

The loss of Mosul would mark the effective end of the Iraqi portion of the cross-border "caliphate" that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) declared in the summer of 2014, after seizing control of large parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

An Iraqi security member stands guard outside the University of Mosul as students arrive to take their exams

A military statement announced the start of the assault, saying the army, counter-terrorism forces and federal police "launched an attack on the Old City".

Machinegun fire crackled and plumes of smoke from missiles rose above the Old City on Sunday morning.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) marching in Raqqa, Syria.

Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a senior commander with the Counter-Terrorism Service, said the operation was advancing slowly "to preserve civilian lives as we breach the enemy's defence lines".

"Our forces have moved in on foot because the alleys are very narrow," he said. "The strategy has changed compared to other operations. There is no room for our vehicles to manoeuvre and there are many civilians."